


Wedding Days

by happy29



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 12:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14402154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy29/pseuds/happy29
Summary: Eleven words associated with Weddings. This is Danny Williams list as he gets ready for his son's big day.





	Wedding Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ERamos9696](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERamos9696/gifts).



> A huge shout-out to the lovely and talented ERamos9696... my partner in crime and co-author in A Day in the Life series. I love you and your enthusiasm when it comes to my writing. It was such a great writing day, having you clear across the country from me, yet sharing the same computer screen. Google docs is an amazing program to use. Thank you for your beta work, your friendship and the push to keep focused when you know I have a whirlwind of chaos around me. I love you so much and you mean the world to me :)

Nervous~

 

I knock softly on the the door of the groom’s room, AKA Steve’s and my bedroom, and take one step inside to check on my boy. He’s staring into the mirror above our dresser, laser focused, his fingers fumbling with the bow tie to his tux. He lets out a frustrated sigh and rips it from around his neck before throwing it on top of the dresser. Nahele doesn’t notice me yet, picks up the tie and begins again. His fingers are shaking from nerves.

I clear my throat so I don’t scare him and he glances up in the mirror, locking eyes with me as I make my way into the room. “Can I help?” I offer softly, knowing how his nerves are probably eating him alive at the moment. He shakes his head _no_ in a stubborn moment and I take a seat on the bed, relieving the weight of the day for a brief moment. I watch him silently for a few minutes as he continues to struggle with the obnoxious tie, his brain and fingers not finding the sync to get the task at hand done.

“You know,” I begin breaking the silence. “I was nervous too.”

“What?” his fingers stopped moving for a split-second.

“I was nervous when I married Steve.”

“You were?” Nahele forgets the tie and turns to face me.

“Sure.” I admit, not for the first time. “Marriage is a big step, a huge commitment. But when you love someone, it can be the best thing in the world and even though the transition can be a little scary, you have to remember that you aren’t in this alone.”

“Can I get married without the tie?” he blurts out as he holds the offensive object up in the air.

I can’t help but let go of a chuckle. It seems to help Nahele relax as well and a smile finally graces his face.. “Of course you can.”

“You think she will care?” he asks me with a nervous tremor in his voice.

“No. She loves you. You could ditch the whole monkey suit and she wouldn’t care.”

“Can you ditch the suit and tie as well? And ask Dad and the rest of the guys to do the same?”

“Absolutely,” I say as I’m already tugging my tie loose. “Anything you want. This is your day. You wear what you want.”

“I hate the suit. It makes me feel claustrophobic.”

“Sometimes I feel the same way. You wear what makes you comfortable, okay? The result at the end of the day is the same regardless of what you’re wearing.” Nahele steps forward and I stand up and pull him into a warm embrace. “I love you, Kiddo.”

“I love you too, Danno.”

 

Fear~

 

It soon replaces the nerves that had been eating at him.

“What if I don’t know what to do to keep her happy?”

I take a deep breath because I have been where he is at in this very moment and I wonder if maybe someone else is a better candidate for this conversation. I glance towards the door hoping someone will come rescue me. Lou or Duke… someone that has more years under their belt than me. But then I realize that Nahele wants an answer from me.

“Well, to be honest, there is no real solid answer to what is going to keep her happy. Make sure she is a priority every day. Tell her you love her and show her, don’t wait for her to say it first. Be spontaneous, take adventures together. Learn to rely on each other during tough days. Talk to her, continue to learn about each other. Most importantly, do not go to bed angry. If it’s one thing Steve and I have learned over the years is we settle a disagreement before our heads hit the pillows or we stay up until we resolve the issue. We’ve had some very long nights, but it has only made us stronger as a couple because we learned how to communicate.”

Nahele shakes his head as if he understands and what I am telling him has sunk in. “Were you ever scared?”

I don’t even think about it before I’m nodding my head _yes_. “I was afraid of getting married again. I didn’t want to fail at it a second time. But the problem Rachel and I had and still struggle with was that we never learned how to communicate openly. It’s a must. Why do you think Steve and I keep up the counseling?”

“I look up to both of you and want a marriage like yours.”

“It doesn’t come without work. You have to make the effort and that isn’t really all that hard when you love the other person.” I shuffle my feet a little bit and shove my hands into my pockets.

“What is it?” Nahele asks me concern clouding his features.

 

Love~

 

Tears well up in my eyes as I stare at the woodgrains in the floorboards. I sniffle and swipe at the tears before I can manage to look at Nahele. “You know how much I love you, right?”

Nahele nods unsure if he can trust himself to speak.

“You may as well be my own flesh and blood, that’s how much I love you, how much you mean to me.”

The tears are now streaming down Nahele’s cheeks and I sense that he feels the same way about Steve and me. “I knew when you asked if you could adopt me, how much you cared about me. You and dad gave me a family again.”

“I love you so much Nahele McGarrett-Williams. You have grown up into a respectful, caring, and hard working young man. Samantha is a lucky young lady.”

“She’s something special.”

 

Something Old~

 

I reach into my pocket and grasp the worn object I had stashed there hours earlier. “You know there’s this tradition in weddings about passing on something old.”

Nahele nods and smiles fondly. “Sam talks about that stuff all the time.”

I pull the old worn leather wallet out of my pocket and hold it between my fingers for Nahele to see. There’s a curious confusion behind his eyes. “There’s a tradition in the Williams family when the oldest son gets married. It started with my great-great grandfather.”

“You pass on a wallet?” Nahele asked, eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“Yeah it’s a wallet. My father gave it to me like his father gave it to him. And now I’m giving it to you.”

Nahele takes a step back. “That should go to Charlie. He’s your son.”

I shake my head _no_. “What did I tell you? You’re my son and you are the oldest.” I take Nahele’s hand and place the wallet in it and close his fingers around the heirloom. “The tradition is that the dad puts money in the wallet for his son’s start to a new life. Steve and I have been blessed beyond words and this is our gift to you and Sam.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I love you Nahele. We love Samantha and we don’t want you to have to worry about anything starting a new life together. This is what my dad did for me and his dad did for him.”

Nahele chokes back a sob and pulls me into a hug. “Thank you, Danno. I’ll always take care of this and Sam.”

“I know you will. Now, get changed and we will meet you outside.”

There’s a knock on the door and Charlie pops his head in. “Dad wants to know if everything is okay in here.”

“Everything’s great,” I say as I glance at the clock on my nightstand. “I better go tell the other’s to ditch the monkey suits if we are going to have a wedding.”

“I’ll be there in a minute, Danno. I have something for Nahele.” Charlie steps over to his brother and grins widely.

“Okay, don’t be long. We don’t want to make the bride nervous.” I pull the door shut behind me and allow my two boys their own bonding moment.

 

Something Blue~

 

“I can’t believe you’re getting married.”

“It’s crazy isn’t it?” Nahele strips off the white tux dress shirt and swaps it for a slate blue Hawaiian button down. He visibly relaxes and takes a deep breath. “Much better.”

Charlie looks at him wide-eyed. “You aren’t wearing the tux?”

“Nope. And neither are you.” He reaches over and unties Charlie’s perfect bow-tie.

“Okay,” Charlie says hesitantly, “I have something for you.” He slides his hand into his pocket and stops. “Danno took me shopping a few weeks ago. And I know that you won’t be living here anymore and I’m going to miss you.” Charlie looks at the floorboards and tries to hide the tears. “I don’t want you to forget me.”

Nahele steps forward and envelopes his younger brother in a tight embrace, and kisses the top of his blond head. “I would never forget you. You’re my little brother.” He tucks a finger under Charlie’s chin and raises his head so he can look into his eyes. “Just because I’m getting married doesn’t mean I’m never coming back home. And Sam and I are going to be close by. I’ll be over so much it will be like I never left.”

“Promise?”

“100 percent McGarrett-Williams promise.”

Charlie pulled the object out of his pocket and held his hand flat for Nahele to see. “This is for you. So when you are away, you can remember me.” Laying in the outstretched hand was a hand-blown glass blue sea turtle with flecks of green. “I remember all the times when you would go down to the beach with me and look for the turtles that dad and Danno said didn’t exist. I’ll never forget those days.”

Nahele picked the figurine up out of his brother’s hand and pulled Charlie into another hug. “I’ll never forget it either. Remember the names we gave them? Izzy and Lizzy?”

Charlie laughed into his brother’s shoulder. “Gracie thought we were crazy.”

“Yeah, until she saw them for herself. Look, it is going to be crazy later with all of the guests and I may get lost in the chaos of the rest of the day but I want you to know how much I love you little bro. Thank you for giving me this now.”

Another knock at the door caused both Nahele and Charlie to jump. “Is there room in here for one more?” Steve asked as he stepped in and was met with a double hug from both his boys.

“God would you look at you? Danno just told me we were ditching the monkey suits. Great call. Charlie you need to go change so we can get this boy down the aisle to greet his bride.”

“Okay.”

Steve kissed the top of Charlie’s head as he walked by. It wouldn’t be much longer and Charlie was going to be taller than his dad. He followed Charlie to the door and closed it behind him before turning to face his oldest. “You nervous?”

“A little bit. Talking to Danno earlier helped.”

“He’s good at that whole talking thing.” Steve made talking gestures with his hands and gave Nahele a lopsided grin.

“You like it when he talks, just admit it.”

Steve rolled his eyes a few times and finally agreed. “It has grown on me over the years.”

 

Something New~

 

“I know Danno gave you something earlier when he was up here and I have something for you as well.”

“You’ve already given me so much.”

“We love you. We adore Samantha and even though you are marrying a Grover, I guess we can live with having Lou a part of our family now.”

“I think he feels the same way.” Nahele chuckled and dodged Steve’s soft punch to the shoulder.

“I know that you and Sam have that apartment lined for the next few months.”

“Yeah. It will be fine for now. We don’t need anything fancy.”

Steve rolled his shoulders and made a face. “See now that is where Danno and the Grover’s and I disagree.” Steve held up and hand to silence Nahele. “Before you start, hear me out. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Remember that house you and Sam looked at that everyone fell in love with? Danno was already trying to figure out how to move in so he could have the kitchen and Renea was already picking out fabrics for the drapes?”

“Yeah, it was sold before we could even put in an offer.”

“Yeah that was too bad.” Steve ducked his head and slid his hand into his pants’ pocket jingling the object inside. He pulled out his closed fist and took Nahele’s hand in his, transferring the object. “Here’s to a new start with your beautiful wife.”

Nahele opened his hand to reveal a set of house keys. He was speechless.

“The Grovers and us got together and bought the house for you and Sam. First year’s mortgage is on us, then it will be transferred to you and Sam to take over.”

Nahele stood there still in shock. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say you will let Danno cook there on occasion because he loves the kitchen and if you don’t he’s going to make me remodel ours and I don’t want to do that.”

Nahele pulled Steve into a tight embrace. “He can have the first Thanksgiving and any other days he wants.”

Steve kissed Nahele’s cheek. “We love you kiddo.”

“I love you too, dad.”

“Okay, I need to go get changed out of this suit. We will meet you outside when you’re ready.” Steve turned to leave and was met by Gracie in the doorway. “Where did you learn those ninja skills young lady? I never heard the door open.”

“You, of course.” She rolled up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Danno is looking for you. Something about Eric and inappropriate comments towards the other bridesmaids. I don’t know, I stopped listening.”

“Oy vey. This ought to be good.” Steve looked at both of his children, so grown up. “Don’t be long, okay?”

“Got it,” they both chimed in together. Grace started to giggle as Nahele draped an arm around her shoulder.

 

Something Borrowed~

 

Grace waited for Steve to close the door before she turned out of her brother’s embrace. “I have something for you.” She held up a flat package wrapped in glittery silver and white wedding paper. A shimmering bow adorned the top left corner. She handed the package to Nahele. “Go ahead and open it.”

Nahele picked at the tape carefully while Grace rolled her eyes.

“Just rip it open already.”

Nahele smiled at his sister. “Okay Grace-Face.” He tore at the wrapping and let it fall to the floor. “Grace. This is your journal. I don’t understand.”

Grace shook her head. “No, this is _our_ journal. Remember when Danno was shot and we thought we were going to lose him?” Nahele nodded at the memory. “I started keeping a journal and the more I wrote in it, the more I realized how much I was writing about how you helped me through that time. So then I started writing letters to you in my journal, not really knowing if I was ever going to let you read them. When you told me you were asking Sam to marry you, I realized that we weren’t going to be in the same house anymore. You don’t have to do anything with the journal but read it. But if you wanted to write in it as well, I thought we could trade it off every month. You already know I’ll be texting you everyday. But this could be something special between us, to keep us connected.”

Nahele pulled Gracie into a hug. “I love that idea, Gracie. Thank you.”

“I better get back to Sam.”

“I love you, Grace-Face.”

“I love you too, Nahele.”

 

White~

 

The bride was stunning. Samantha Grover must have been having the same thoughts as Nahele when it came to what they were going to wear down the aisle. The high heels Renea had shown Grace and I on several occasions had been swapped out for a simple pair of white flip flops that complimented the flowing chiffon wedding dress perfectly. The light wind kept wisping the dress back and forth revealing pretty pink toenails that matched the pink gerbera daisies carried by the bridesmaids. The entire bridal party was now barefoot and full of smiles.

 

Flowers~

 

The bride had abandoned the enormous bouquet her mother had helped put together in favor of a single white calla lily paired with a pink gerbera daisy plucked from the original bouquet. Sometimes simple was more beautiful. I catch a glimpse of Grover and the man is crumbling as he hands off his baby girl.. I imagine I will be the same when it’s my turn to give away my daughter. He too has abandoned the monkey suit in favor of a colorful Hawaiian shirt. He shakes Nahele’s hand, pulls him into a hug before turning to Samantha and kissing her on the cheek.

She smiles up at her daddy and whispers, ‘I love you.’ Steve drops an arm over my shoulder and pulls me closer to him. Our boy is getting married.

 

View~

 

Nahele asked us if they could get married in our backyard with the ocean as their backdrop and Steve and I couldn’t have been happier to make it happen for them. Nahele wanted to get married where he was comfortable, somewhere where he and Samantha had spent a lot of time and that place was our beach. Countless hours spent sitting in our weathered beach chairs, holding hands and staring out over the ocean planning their future. Numerous nights, laying on a blanket on the beach, staring up at the endless stars, falling deeper in love. They didn’t want anything fancy, just our family and Ohana present, their closest friends and siblings to stand up with them. The pictures will be stunning.

 

Food~

 

Nahele and Samantha asked me if I would come up with a menu for their reception. I was torn between the Hawaiian theme to represent my boy or something to represent Samantha. In the end I had to kick Lou out of my kitchen and go with my gut. A colorful tropical fruit salad, pineapple included was the first thing I decided on.

On Friday evening before the big day, Steve and I found ourselves elbow deep in fresh fruit. He tried his hardest to keep shoving pieces of pineapple in my mouth as we were busy cutting it up.. He was only successful in getting the juice on my lips when he gave up and kissed me instead after chomping on an oversized piece. I smacked him on the ass and pushed my hip into his to get him away from me. Instead he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer and dropping sticky kisses to the back of my neck. I managed to twist out of his grasp, stashed the bowl in the fridge and pulled him towards our bedroom. The fruit could wait an hour.

Flippa and Kamekona roasted a pig for us and the aroma of fresh Hawaiian rolls were making everyone drool. Homemade meatballs in a swedish mushroom sauce for Grover and a beautiful salad full of colorful berries and mixed greens for Samantha were all part of the menu. Lou joked that I could close the restaurant and take up catering instead. I told him not to give Steve any more ideas, we were busy enough.

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for our son to get married. The weather cooperated, Steve finally got Eric under control and the ceremony went off without a hitch. The last guest had finally said goodbye as Steve placed the remaining gifts in the living room for Nahele and Sam to open in a few days when they returned from their honeymoon. I was so thankful that we hired someone to clean up the after reception mess so we didn’t have to. I was dead on my feet and I know Steve wasn’t far behind.

I grabbed two beers from the fridge and tugged on his hand, pulling him towards our chairs on the beach. “Remember when you asked me to marry you?”

“Which time?” he asks as he takes a swig from his bottle and pulls my bare feet into his lap. Over time our chairs have shifted and now we tend to face each other more than the view surrounding us.

“The last time. The time when I actually said _yes_.”

Steve nods and grows silent.

“You ever think we would have all this?” I motion back and forth between us. “You ever think we would make it this far?”

“Never had a single doubt.”

I look at my husband and see he has put the putz part of himself on the backburner. He’s all serious as he pushes his beer bottle into the sand so it doesn’t fall over and then scoots to the edge of his chair, pulling on my legs in the process to bring us closer together. I get with the program and work my way to the edge of my own chair before lifting my hips and sliding into his lap, wrapping my feet around his waist.

“I’d marry you again everyday for the rest of my life.”

I brush a kiss against his lips and then plant one on his neck. “You’d marry me everyday just so you could have a honeymoon every night.”

“Guilty. Can you believe our boy is married?” Steve asks as he nuzzles my neck.

“Nope. Sometimes I can’t believe we’re married.” Steve pinched me in the side and I squirm in his lap. “Until you do something like that.”

“You like that?”

I pull back and stare down at him. “I should have said _yes_ the first time you asked me.”

“You weren’t ready. It’s okay.”

I kiss him again, linger longer this time as he works his fingers through the back of my hair.

“Come on,” he whispers before kissing my forehead. “I’ve got our honeymoon suite ready for us.”

“I love you, Babe.”

“I love you too, Danno.”

Today my son married his best friend, _just like I did._

 


End file.
